Flashback
S U R V I V O R S season one �� episode 2 ---- This is the second episode of Survivors, season 1, by Rainy. ---- Casper sat outside Mudpoint, the Trackers' small but well-known military base, located just above the TreeClan camp, on the edge of Bone-place. LightClan cats visiting the TreeClan camp often complained they could hear the screaming of those being tortured in Mudpoint. In truth, Mudpoint wasn't as bad as they feared. Certainly not as bad as Tarsyn, the Union's infamous torture center, located on the opposite side of the Emerald River. Soldiers would rather be dead than be taken by RockClan cats to Tarsyn. "You okay?" Hyacinth approached Casper. "You look like death. Get some sleep. Mudpoint is quiet tonight." "That's because I called off the extraction session schedule for tonight." She looked surprised. "You're kidding. Was Raven disappointed?" "After what happened with Flamepaw, I think she was happy she didn't have to torture anyone." Hyacinth shrugged. "Whatever gets us answers, Casper. The session scheduled for tonight... that was..." Her eyes widened. "You called off Lady Valrune's torture session?" Tiredly, Casper said, "She's never going to betray Lord Vector. It's been a year, and she hasn't told us anything. We can't keep doing this to her." "We haven't tortured her for a year," pointed out Hyacinth stubbornly. "We only started recently, when TreeClan started telling us to. And it makes sense. She's the mate of the Shadow Army's leader." "But she's been held hostage for a year," snarled Casper. "Everyone in the Union and RockClan thinks she's dead. What are we keeping her alive for?" "TreeClan has a plan," said Hyacinth. "They must." "Yes. Torture her to insanity." Dubiously, she said, "Even if they have no plan, they'll expect a report. They know an extraction session was scheduled for tonight. What will you tell them?" "The truth. She gave us no information." "Casper..." "What?" he asked, more sharply than he'd intended. She didn't look deterred. "Are you sure your mood isn't because of something else that happened a year ago?" * * * one year ago The day was unusually warm for so late in greenleaf. The sun was shining brightly in a cloudless blue sky. Birds twittered overhead, a happy song that warmed the heart. This was why Casper loved Drurray Way so much. It was such a joyous place, full of warm-hearted cats--like Tildie, the matron of the place. When he was here, he could forget Maverick and all the horrible things happening back at Mudpoint. He could forget that war was beginning, that Shashoake Valley was being invaded by the Shadow Army. "Casper!" A small brown she-cat was running towards him. Her large violet-gray eyes were shining. "Casper! Guess what?" "Larkpaw!" He leaped to his feet, grinning in spite of himself. "What's up?" Mischievously, she said, "Your first word was wrong. It's not Larkpaw." She paused for dramatic effect. "It's Larksong!" For a second, he only stared at her. Then something clicked. "You're a warrior!" "They held the ceremony this morning!" Larksong said happily. Then her face darkened. "I'm sorry, I... I wanted to invite you but--" "Your father didn't want me," said Casper knowingly. '' ''She flushed with shame. "He doesn't understand," she mumbled. Larksong's father was Brackenface, a TreeClan tom with a rigid code of conduct who lived by the warrior code only. He despised the Trackers because they didn't, considering them, like many other Clan cats did, uncivilized savages. Ironically, the thing Brackenface loved most was also the biggest violation of the warrior code in his life. Larksong's mother was Cherryclaw, a LightClan she-cat. When they had first met, Casper thought Larksong would be a bit of a snob; Brackenface had been rising in prominence thanks to his involvement in mobilizing TreeClan's defense against the invading Shadow Army. But Larksong was unaffected by her father's fame. As a half-Clan cat, she knew what it was like to be an outcast. She had befriended Casper when he had gotten separated from a Tracker patrol and ended up at Drurray Way. Though he was on Clan territory, Tildie had taken him in and protected him. "Here at Drurray Way, we take in everyone. Clans, groups, affiliations... they all come second to what we have. Family," Tildie told him. "That's what matters." Casper dreaded the day Maverick sent a Tracker patrol to take him back to Mudpoint. He hoped they forgot about him; he didn't want to go back to being a Tracker. "It's okay. I wish I could've been there, but I'm just happy that you're a warrior. You deserve it," Casper told Larksong. She beamed. "I'm so happy. It's all I've ever worked for." Though Casper didn't understand all of the Clans' customs, he did understand the apprentice-to-warrior transition. It was like going from a cadet to a full Tracker, something that had happened to him only a moon ago. Of course, becoming a Tracker was different than becoming a warrior... It didn't take just training. You were only a full Tracker once you had made your first kill. It wasn't the Trackers Casper resented. Though their methods might seem archaic and savage to Clan cats, Casper appreciated his fellow Trackers' tenacity and fearlessness. It was Maverick he hated. Maverick, who killed for sport and violated the Tracker code at every turn. Sooner or later, someone had to stand up to Maverick and seize control of the Trackers... before he ended up destroying them all. Larksong was nudging him, pushing him out of his thoughts and back to reality. "Look," she whispered. '' ''A patrol of TreeClan cats was approaching Drurray Way's entrance. Tildie was walking down the path to meet them. At the head of the patrol, Casper recognized Brackenface. "What's Dad doing here?" wondered Larksong again. "He told me he and Mom were planning to stay home and have a quiet day in." Shrugging, Casper said, "Let's go find out." As they neared Tildie and the patrol, they could hear her speaking in an anxious tone. '' ''"... made that perfectly clear, but I still don't understand why you have to send soldiers here. Drurray Way. This is a safehouse, not a military station." "Which is why we need to protect it, ma'am," said Brackenface smoothly. "We have reason to believe RockClan is collaborating with Lord Vector and Lady Valrune." "RockClan?" said Tildie, astonished. "Surely not! They're Clan cats, same as us." "That's what makes this so dangerous. They know LightClan and TreeClan customs, practices, and hiding places. Drurray Way is a well-known refuge for cats of all Clans and backgrounds. We believe that it, along with Yellowhills and Waller's Trench, will be targeted first." "Yellowhills makes sense; all our most skilled workers are located there. And Waller's Trench, because it's where LightClan grows the Valley's largest supply of medicinal herbs. But Drurray Way? We are a peaceful lot, no threat to everyone." "The unity and good faith here is what makes Drurray Way such an optimal target. It is the heart of goodness this side of the Emerald River. We have to protect you. Please let us, ma'am," said Brackenface. His face was earnest, but his eyes were cold. There was no choice; his soldiers were here to stay. Tildie seemed to realize this. "Please come in. Make yourselves at home." As she led Brackenface and his soldiers inside the dirt caverns that made up Drurray Way, Larksong turned to Casper with a look of outrage on her face. "He's got no right!" Uncertainly, Casper said, "Maybe he's right. Maybe Drurray Way is in danger." Scoffing, Larksong said, "I think everyone who's yelling about a real war with the Shadow Army is overreacting. RockClan may have helped them a little, but they won't actually ally themselves with murderers like Vector and Valrune. This will be over before we know it. This time next year, everything will be okay." * * * "She was wrong," whispered Casper. "And now she's gone." Hyacinth gave him a puzzled look. "Casper..." He sighed. "We should go back inside." "It's conceited, really." Stopping in his tracks, he turned to her with a slight frown on his brow. "What?" "You're being conceited," she said evenly. "Blaming yourself for the entire Drurray Way Masscare? I mean, you must have quite an ego to think you were responsible for all those cats' deaths." Jaw tightening, he said, "Don't ever become a counselor, Hyacinth. You're terrible at it." She shrugged. "I call 'em like I see 'em. You've got no right to mope about that. It's been a year." "It was my fault. Not the entire thing, but..." "Larksong," she said knowingly. "She's not dead." "How do you know?" he challenged. Sympathy glimmered in Hyacinth's eyes. She touched her nose to his. "Casper," she whispered. "You can't think of Larksong as your redemption. You can't burden her like that. She's just one cat." "I'm not--" "Yes, you are. You're making her a martyr, making her a symbol of every mistake you've ever made. You think that if you can save her, you'll redeem yourself. But redemption doesn't lie with her, Casper. It's inside you." "I can't hear this right now." "You know I'm right." "Be as that may." "Casper--" "Her family died because of me." His voice was ragged, ripped at the edges. "Her father, her mother. And they weren't the only ones. If I had just seen--" "No one could've seen what would happen. No one," said Hyacinth. "Casper? Listen to me. Look at me." He looked at her. Hyacinth, moonlight glowing on the ginger patches on her pelt, glinting in her eyes, green as the Emerald River. Felt a warmth rush through him from his head to his toes. "I love you," he said without thinking. She looked taken aback. "I love you too," she said after a brief pause, twining her tail with his. "But--" She seemed about to say something else, but didn't. He knew what it was, anyway. But not like that. Never like that. Sometimes he wondered. She was beautiful, fierce, and strong. They matched each other's fire. But there was something not there. Or maybe it was the opposite--maybe there was too much there. Too much pain endured together, too many memories; too much to ruin with romance. "I know why Drurray Way hurts so much," Hyacinth whispered. He nodded. He knew, too, but he didn't want to hear it. "You couldn't protect the innocent." Screaming. Begging. Dying. Please stop dying, Casper begged the ghosts who lived in his memories. "But Casper, there is no such thing as innocence." * * * Toby ran after the other cadets as fast as his legs could carry him. "Guys, seriously," he said. "We shouldn't go." Maia, the ringleader, turned back to him with a sneer on his face. "Toby, get lost. You're such a moodkiller. If you don't want to come, you don't have to. But tonight is the perfect timing. We're all home, and there's no extraction session going on. Everyone's out relaxing, and no one's breathing down our necks. We're free to do whatever we like." "If Casper finds out..." "Why would Casper find out?" scoffed Blake, Maia's boyfriend. "No one likes a tattle," warned Maia. "Now are you coming or not?" He looked at the other cadets. His brother, Greg, watching him with a shrewd gaze, waiting to see if Toby would act like a chicken or not. And Snowflake. A beautiful white she-cat with deep blue eyes. He couldn't believe she was going. But if she went, he had to go. Couldn't let her get hurt with these buffoons. "This is a mistake," he muttered bitterly as he fell into step with Greg. Triumphantly, Maia said, "The whole crew's here. What could go wrong?" Toby didn't feel like replying. "Don't be such a downer, brother," Greg said, snorting. He sped up to walk beside Maia and Blake. Snowflake took his place at Toby's shoulder. "I heard about the mission," she said quietly. He shook his head bitterly. "My first mission, and it went horrible." "That wasn't your fault. It was a big sign of faith that Casper chose you; he rarely brings cadets along on Council-ordained missions." "That she-cat who died, Flamepaw. She was our age." Snowflake didn't say anything, but her large blue eyes were gentle, inviting him to let it all out. "Do you ever imagine... I mean, if the war never started, Flamepaw wouldn't be dead. Like so many others." Toby shut his eyes. "You should've heard her father after she died. He screamed like someone had set fire to his soul." "I think that's what it feels like when you lose someone you love," murmured Snowflake. Toby sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if I can do this. Be a Tracker. We have to kill someone to lose cadet status. Doesn't that ever strike you as messed up?" "Yes. But this is a war, and war is messed up." "How do you live with yourself after that?" "I imagine that's exactly why we do this." Snowflake gestured towards Maia and Blake. Emerald River glimmered in the distance, a coiled black snake under the night sky. As they approached the riverbank, a sickly sweet smell reached Toby's nostrils. His mouth flooded with saliva in spite of himself. He could hear voices up ahead. Maia and Blake let out appreciative groans, their mouths open to catch every trace of the sweet scent. A group of cats had set up shop in a shallow ditch by the riverbank. In the middle was green-eyed blue-gray tom, seated beside a pile of bright red berries. He was crushing them onto leaves and handing them out to cats, who paid him in prey and other trinkets. "We're such delinquents," said Greg, smirking. "It's beautiful," giggled Maia. She pressed her nose to Blake's, and Greg's eyes darkened. The five of them made their way down into the ditch. The blue-gray tom watched them with keen eyes. "More customers?" "Oh, shut up, Sven. We're regulars and you know it," scoffed Maia, stepping forward confidently. Sven grinned and handed her a leaf soaked in red juice. "Whatcha got?" "Prey. Give it to 'im, boys." As Greg and Blake stepped forward and delivered the heap of squirrels and mice, Maia tipped her head back and put the leaf in her mouth. A trickle of red juice traced its way down the side of her mouth. Her eyes glowed, pupils dilating. "Scarlet, how I love thee," she said blithely, letting out a rapturous laugh. "Yes, we know you love drugs," Toby sighed, but she wasn't the only one. Snowflake had already stepped forward and gotten her leaf. "So much better than catmint," said Greg. Sven rolled his eyes. "Catmint is kit's play. This is the real stuff, Scarlet grown on Horizon Hills, the strongest in the Valley." Toby knew it was no use trying to stop his friends. He distracted himself by looking around the encampment while he waited for them. There were all kinds of cats at the Redscout marketplace--the Redscouts were the group of cats Sven led, a nomadic group of cats who grew Scarlet in northern Horizon Hills and then traipsed all over the Valley selling it. TreeClan cats, LightClan cats, and a few RockClan apprentices who had crossed Emerald River in the dark to get their paws on some Scarlet. There was even a she-cat who looked like she might be part of the Negoui tribe, which meant she had come a very long way. All enmity was forgotten. Cats came here under the assumption that Scarlet was more important than anything. They were desperate to leave behind their pain and insecurities, to be happy for a night. As the night wore on, the revelry faded to quiet. Sven and a couple of other Redscouts began packing up the remaining red berries. Toby went to find his friends. Blake and Maia were fast asleep, their muzzles stained red. Toby woke them, then collected Greg and Snowflake. He waited while the other four washed off at the river. The sun was rising by the time they got on their way back to Mudpoint. "My head hurts," groaned Greg as the spires of earthen caves appeared in the distance. "Think I had a little too much." "I think you had way too much." "You didn't even try, Toby. Why do you bother coming?" Maia asked. Toby didn't respond, lest his eyes betray him and move towards Snowflake, who was stumbling along beside him, leaning on his shoulder. Her white fur was disheveled, and there were still smudges of pink on her face. He put his muzzle near her fur and smelled Scarlet on her, that sweet, dangerously enticing scent. She was beautiful. The Trackers were already awake, but no one was running around in agitation. The cadets' disappearance hadn't been noticed yet. "You guys get some sleep," said Toby. "I'll cover for you." "You're the best," Snowflake said, smiling and licking his cheek before running off towards the cadet den. "Knew there was a reason we're brothers," Greg said sleepily. Toby stifled a sigh as he watched the other cadets stumble away. If they only slept at night, focused themselves... they could come on missions too. But they only wanted to "live in the moment", as Maia put it, and living in the moment to them meant Scarlet and staying up and disobeying every order Casper gave. He couldn't decide if they were stupid or reckless. Maybe they were neither. Maybe they were wise. Coming on missions wasn't fun at all. Toby approached Casper, who was standing outside talking to Hyacinth in an urgent voice. He opened his mouth, ready to make some excuse for why there were no squirrels in the fresh-kill pile this morning (squirrels were Sven's favorite prey), but Casper beat him to it. "Toby, you'll come with us." "What? What's going on?" he asked, confused, eyes darting from Casper to Hyacinth, and back again. "There's trouble. A TreeClan scout just said we're needed somewhere. Didn't say what happened, just that it was urgent." "Where are we going?" "Drurray Way." The End Category:Survivors